Signature BioScience

Signature BioScience Inc. was a biotechnology company based in San Francisco and carried out clinical trials on Digitoxin as a potential treatment for cancer. It was formed in 1998 but closed in 2003.

Technology

WaveScreen

Signature’s detection-based, cell-oriented drug discovery platform, WaveScreen™ integrates Signature's portfolio of complementary screening technologies, including its proprietary spectroscopy, MCS, and Cytection with assays. The technologies evaluates both cellular and molecular responses to compounds at the beginning of the drug discovery process. The company used WaveScreen to drive lead compound discovery for pharmaceutical and biotech partnership opportunities, while globally commercializing its MCS-based WaveSpec™ instrumentation in collaboration with its partner MDS Sciex.

Cytection

Cytection™ assays were a part of Signature’s drug discovery and development program. The technology was based on their proprietary screening platform which was used to rapidly discover and efficiently optimize highly qualified small molecules. Cytection™ used diseased and normal patient-derived primary cells, rather than immortalized cell lines, to identify compounds that were selectively active against diseased tissues compared to normal tissues. Signature used the platform for hit identification when screening potential drug compounds as well as for structure activity relationship (SAR) lead optimization.

Multipole Coupling Spectroscopy

Signature also developed a cellular detection system based on its proprietary Multipole Coupling Spectroscopy (MCS) technology. The MCS technology was used for applications in drug discovery and is based upon dielectric spectroscopy. MCS uses microwave and radio frequencies which can be used to scan proteins and cells. The response signal indicates whether there's an interaction, the change in the structure of the protein or cell and the resulting change in function. Signature used the technology to look at the effect on a given protein or a given cell caused by the addition of another molecule. The system operates in real time with no labels or tags necessary. Compounds can be profiled against many cellular systems, in primary cells, in immortalized cells with the target in its native state, or in cell lines in which the target is artificially introduced. The system allows detection of physical and biological properties of molecules and cells, including target drug receptors and the interactions of two molecules with each other in real time (such as the binding of a test compound to a target drug receptor. ) Signature's patent portfolio relating to MCS consisted of five issued patents: four in the United States, one in the United Kingdom.

References

• Levine, Daniel (April 17, 2003). "Signature BioScience to shut down". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved 2008-10-10. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)